Batgirl: Son of Penguin
| Creators = Hope Larson; Chris Wildgoose; Jon Lam; Mat Lopes; Deron Bennett; Mark Doyle; Rebecca Taylor | First = Batgirl Vol 5 7 | Last = Batgirl Vol 5 11 | Quotation = Ethan has intel on everyone who's used a VicForm app-- which is everyone with a smart phone. What if he's found a way to automatically manipulate people's emotioins and actions through social media? Some kind of algorithm? If so, that could make him incredibly dangerous. | Speaker = Batgirl | QuoteSource = Batgirl Vol 5 10 | HistoryText = Batgirl is back home in Burnside, but the place has changed noticeably during her time abroad. Businesses have been replaced, prizes have skyrocketed, her apartment rent has doubled and her friend Frankie is moving out. At the very least she feels she made the right choice when she switched her major to Library Science. Barbara attends a charity event cosponsored by her company and meets Ethan, a young entrepreneur that has developed VicForm, a firm that uses technology to change communities. Ethan asks her out and Barbara accepts, before finding out his full name is Ethan Cobblepot, son of the Penguin. Barbara intends to see Ethan the next Saturday night and check whether he is or is not up to something. Previously she calls Dick, who had no idea that the Penguin has a son. Afterwards, Barbara watches a couple reporting a homeless guy on "Safestreets", a new app. Apparently, the owners of "Safestreets" will send someone out to pick that man up. Barbara is extremely suspicious about it all and decides to stick around after a quick change of clothes. Two hours later she sees two men picking up the homeless guy. When the man protests, they knock him out and dump him in the back of their truck. Batgirl follows them and leaps into action when the truckers deliver the man to Fright. She battles and defeats Fright, with a bit of help of the homeless guy, but Fright claims she did not build the "Safestreets" app. A quick internet search reveals "Safestreets" has been developed by VicForm. Later Barbara is going out with Ethan Cobblepot, Penguin's son. She gets Ethan to talk about his connection to the Penguin: Ethan's mother was a waitress at the Iceberg Lounge whom the Penguin knocked up. Cobblepot wanted nothing to do with the child, but out of a sense of duty more than anything, he was never late with child support. When Ethan got into Yale, Oswald sent a check for his tuition and announced that his obligation was done. Since Ehan did not need the money he came to Gotham to return the check in person. The Penguin said Ethan could do whatever he wanted with the check and wanted him out of his office. Ehan used that money to start out VicForm. The next Saturday Barbara goes to South Burnside elementary school where she does volunteer work teaching kids Computer Science. After school a kid is picked up by her "walkhome". At night Barbara is spying on Ethan before going out with her friends. When a girl is being harassed by a stalker, Barbara offers to walk her back home. The girl declines and pulls her cell phone out to get a "walkhome". Barbara discovers "Walkhome" is another app built by VicForm. Having a bad feeling, Barbara changes clothes and goes outside to watch over that girl. Her walkhome turns out to be Magpie, who deals with a stalker brutally. Batgirl engages and punches Magpie out. During the next days, Batgirl keeps putting out fires caused by VicForm's apps, and she gradually realizes Ethan appears to be targetting her. Nonetheless, Ethan also seems to be serious about dating her civilian identity. Ethan invites Barbara to a masquerade ball, and while he is busy greeting the partygoers, Barbara slips out and heads to VicForm H. Q. to scope the place out. Batgirl sneaks in the building through a window and is attacked by two men. After taking them down she notices they are Penguin's henchmen and thinks Ethan is in league with his father after all, but then the Penguin turns up and denies working with his son. Cobblepot claims his son Ethan started a riot at the Iceberg Lounge that night. Seeing he cannot get his father's praise, he seeks to destroy him. Batgirl looks into the riot. She deduces Ethan is incredibly skillful at manipulating people's emotions and actions through social media, making his actions seem random incidents in no way connected with him. Barbara goes to meet Ethan up, intending to break up with him, but Ethan sent an intern to dump her. Nightwing calls Barbara to warn her that someone has been uploading to social media pictures of Batgirl meeting with the Penguin. Barbara realizes Ethan is trying to undermine both his father and Batgirl by using those photos. Ethan is using social media to carry forward a massive power grab. The next morning, Barbara, Alysia and Frankie are hanging out together when a car crashes into the coffee shop where they are having breakfast. Barbara investigates and confirms her suspicions: Ethan engineered that "accident" to scare her. Barbara suits up, knowing where an angry boy with daddy issues would head next. Ethan meets his father to gloat over taking over his bussiness. He takes off his clothes, revealing a costume beneath, and declares his name is now "Blacksun". Blacksun hypnotizes several dozens of people via cell phone into attacking his father. Before they can murder the Penguin, Batgirl swoops in and rescues the Penguin. Blacksun runs away, Batgirl hot on his trail. Nightwing helps Batgirl lure Blacksun into a Wi-Fi free park. Blacksun can't use his online network to manipulate people into doing his bidding anymore, so Batgirl engages him. During the fight, Blacksun's suit's circuitry short-circuits and catches fire. Batgirl quickly puts off the fire and calls an ambulance. Ethan is taken to an hospital, but he's abducted by the Penguin, who has decided he regards Ethan as his son after all. | Issues = * (Son of Penguin, Part 1) * (Son of Penguin, Part 2) * (Son of Penguin, Part 3) * (Son of Penguin, Part 4) * (Son of Penguin, Finale) | Items = * Batrope | Vehicles = * Batcycle | Weapons = * Batarang * Penguin's Umbrella | Notes = | Trivia = | RecommendedReading = | Links = }}